Detergent and process of making the same



Patented May 6%, 1924.

DETERGENT AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

No brawing.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. DIVINE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Detergents and Processes of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

. My invention relates to the production of (a detergent compound from alkali metal sulfonates and particularly from alkali met- 'al sulfonates obtained according to the methods described in U. S. patents to Petrolf No. 1,233,700 dated July 17, 1917, and

THumphreys No. 1,286,179 dated Nov. 26,

Patents 1,286,179 and 1,233,700 disclose processes wherein a hydrocarbon oil after treatment with fuming sulfuric acid and separation of the resulting acid sludge is treated to recover the sulfonic acids remaining in the oil. According to Patent No. 1,286,179 the oil is first treated with alkali which combines with the. sulfonic acids forming alkali metal sulfonates which then are dissolved from the oil by washing with an organic solvent such asmethyl or ethyl alcohol or acetone. According to Patent No.

1,233,700 the sulfonic acids are dissolved from the separated oil by means of an organic solvent such as-methyl 'orethyl alcohol or acetone and the solution of sulfonic acids treated with alkali to form alkali metal sulfonates. In these. processes organic solvents of relatively low concentration say to 50% are employed. In applying the above described processes to American petroleum it has been found that the resulting sulfonic acid product is not sufficiently soluble in water to be used readily for detergent purposes.

The product obtained by the application of the Humphreys and Petrofi' processes when applied to American petroleum con-.

Application filed August 11, 1920. 'Serial No. 402,824.

in the product. produced by Humphreys and Petrofl"s processes cannot be separated by extraction with solvents such as naphtha because the entire product is soluble in such solvents. Y

My process of refining is as follows:

The alkali metal sulfonate product containing free oil is completely freed from water and then treated with relatively strong organic solvent such as methyl or ethyl alcohol or acetone for instance ethyl alcohol of from to 100% concentration. For example, the semi-liquid or viscous product obtained by the Petroff process is freed from water by boiling in a steam jack eted'vessel until substantially all of the wa ter is removed. The dry product thus obtained then is treated with 70 to 100% alcohol by mixing and thorough stirring. The mixture is allowed to settle with the formation of two layers, one containing an alcoholic solution of alkali metal sulfonates andline or acid constituents and having good detergent properties toward greases and other foreign matter or dirt ordinarily present in soiled fabricsit constitutes an excellent cleansing medium for the most delicate fabrics.

The alkali metal cording to Humphreys process may be refined in the same manner as that descrlbed above and with similar results.

In the separation of the alcoholic solution of alkali metal sulfonates from oil as above described the oil layer retains appreciable quantities of alkali metal sulfonates whlch may be recovered by further treatment of the oil by extraction WIthstrong alcohol andseparation of the alcoholic solution.

The alkali metal sulfonates above referred to are, ordinarily, the sodium sulfonates.

My proce$ contemplates broadly the sulfonates produced ac.

treatment of alkali metal sulfonate products recovered from petroleum oils for the removal therefrom of all or a substantial portion of their free oil content and the production of a readily water soluble product and is not limited to any particular method of production or source of the free oil containing material.

I claim:

1. Process of refining alkali metal S 111-- fonates obtained from hydrocarbon oils by treating such oils with sulfuric acid, separating the oil from acid sludge, extracting said oil with organic solvent which is insoluble in said oil, treating the solution with alkali, and separating said solvent from the solu-. tion which comprises freeing said sulfonates from water, extracting the dried residue with an organic solvent soluble in Water separating the resulting solution from o and separating the organic solvent from aeeam comprises freein said material from water dissolving the su fonate content of said material with alcohol of from 70 to 100%, separating the alcoholic solution of sulfonates from said oil, and recovering said sulfonates from said alcoholic solution by evaporation.

arProcess for refining alkali metal sulfonates contained in material comprising free oil and Water which comprises drying said material, dissolving said sulfonates in said dried material in a highly concentrated solution of ethyl alcohol, separating the resulting alcoholic solution from oil and evaporating said solution.

5. Process of making a readily water soluble detergent comprising alkali metal sulfonates from alkali metal sulfonate material derived from-petroleum hydrocarbon oil and containing free oil and water, which comprises removing Water from said material by evaporation-at elevated temperature, extracting the dried material with concentrated alcohol, separating the resulting alcoholic solution from oil and evaporating said solution whereby alkali metal sulfonates substantially free from oil are produced.

In testimony whereof, I ailix my signature.

ROBERT E. DIVINE. 

